


The Call

by iron_woman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, but with boobed tony stark, cause i can't get enough of a female tony stark bc it's like extra pain ya know, love it, the missing call we never got to hear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 03:58:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14608803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iron_woman/pseuds/iron_woman
Summary: When the flip phone flashed her name - flashed Toni Stark - Steve felt his heart leap out of his chest. She was calling, she was finally calling.But it wasn't her voice that answered him.





	The Call

**Author's Note:**

> When picturing a female Tony Stark, I use Anna Silk from Lost Girl. She's around the right age (mid 40s) and is so lovely to look at. Plus when I rped Toni Stark on tumblr, I used Anna as my faceclaim. 
> 
> Tumblr: http://irondadftw.tumblr.com/

Two years sense he had heard her voice. 

Steve didn't count the TV; it was different from actually having her next to him. There was no small, just-for-him smiles that she'd flash him. No raised eyebrow or the quick upturn of her full lips. There was none of that and something inside of him ached at it. He missed her, he knew he did. She'd clawed her way inside his heart but even that wasn't enough for either of them. There were oil and water. While they worked well together out on the field, out of it was a different story. She followed ordered until she was out of the suit then her snark would show and he rose to her bait each time. It was their thing; they'd snap at each other, rile the other up before watching a movie or sharing a meal together. 

They just fit so well together and he had a part in screwing that up. 

Leaning back in his chair, he slid his hand into his pocket. The flip phone that was always charged. Did Toni keep the one he sent her? Did she always carry it around like he did? Gripping it as tightly as he could without breaking it, he wondered if she stared at it too. Hoping it would ring, hoping he'd make the first move. But he couldn't. He had to let her take this step. He had to give her that, at least. After everything, it was the least he could do. 

He wondered if their separation was hard on her too. If she thought about their 'almost relationship'. He did. It was always in the back of his mind. Wondering what he could have done differently. 

' _You could have told her_ ,' a voice in his head whispered, ' _you should have told her about her parents. She would have been prepared. That fight might not have happened and you wouldn't have beaten the woman you love_.'

He fucked up and if she never reached out to him, he couldn't blame her. But it didn't change the fact that he missed her so goddamn much. He'd still do what he needed too, though. Help the little guy, give his help where it was needed. The mission was the one of the only things that kept him going. Glancing up, he saw Nat and Sam up by the window in the hotel they were staying in. Scotland was beautiful. He can't help but think Toni would have loved it. 

As it was, he only got real updates when he spoke to Vision. Toni knew he was meeting up with Wanda and kept her month shut about it. Would even buy him the plane tickets and got the fake documentation. He spoke fondly of her and Steve had even heard him say he thought of her as his mother. He wondered if Vision knew what happened in Siberia. With the way he acted, with the way Rhodey still talked to Sam, Steve didn't think Toni told anyone. Just like he hadn't. 

His heart clutched in his chest. Vision and Rhodey talked to them. Like friends, like teammates. Rhodey spoke about how Toni was so close to getting Ross locked up. But she had to play her cards right - the President was so far up 'Ross' ass, Ross was spiting out the President's teeth'. Toni's words, not his own. The phrasing made him smile - he wished he could have heard her speak them. He should be there, he thought, helping her do this. But he can't. Toni was the master at this game, and he was the master at this. They each had their strong points and needed to be where they were. It didn't stop the longing, though, didn't stop the wondering. 

A loud ringing noise busted throughout the Quinjet and he jumped. 

Sam snapped his head towards him and Nat was looking down, right where the phone was. Steve's heart flipped in his chest and he stood, whipping out the phone. 

' _Toni Stark_ '. 

She was calling, Toni was calling. 

He flipped it open, turning his back onto his teammates and head towards the back. It pressed tightly to his ear and his voice was rough when he spoke. 

"Toni?"

" _Steve?_ " That. . . That wasn't Toni. Brows furrowed, it took Steve a minute to place the voice. A voice he hadn't heard sense Ultron. 

"Bruce? Why do you have this phone? Where's Toni?" 

" _Toni's gone_ ," Bruce's voice was low, dripping with regret and Steve thought his heart stopped. " _There was an alien attack in New York and they took Doctor Strange- uh, a wizard with one of the Infinity Stones. She flew after him and_. . ." He trailed off, as if unsure what or how to say anything else. 

"Another attack." Steve's free hand formed a fist and he pressed it against the wall. He could feel the others hovering behind him, but forced himself to listen to Bruce's voice. She was right. She was right, they were coming back.

" _It- his name isThanos. He's collecting the stones to wipe out half the universe_." His breathing was coming in in pants and in the background, Steve could finally hear the panic. " _He's going to come for Vision. Toni said you'd know where he is. Get him, Steve_." 

Fuck.

"I'll get him, Bruce. Where are you heading?"

" _Avengers Compound. Toni said something about Rhodes being there. I'll meet you at home_." Home. Was it still his home? Did he still have a room there? Or did she tear it up in a fit of rage? It doesn't matter - the Compound would always be home because Toni made it that way. " _Steve_?"

"Yeah," he answered. "We'll meet you there. Bruce. . . Is she still alive?"

There was a pause before Bruce's shaking voice answered. 

" _I don't know_."

Steve didn't say goodbye. He snapped the phone shut and resisted the urge to crush it. There was another attack coming for Earth and they just lost their best defense. She tried to warn them about this. About what she saw on the other side of the portal. And they all brushed her off. Even he did, directing her attention towards the team's suits and gear. Toni knew and they ignored her and now it was here. And she wasn't because she was trying to save a wizard in space. Who had one of the Infinity Stones. And this Thanos was coming to get the Mind Stone from Vision. 

The cell cracked a little under the pressure of his hand. 

"Steve." Nat's sharp voice cut through the air like a knife. "Was that Bruce?" He nodded, turning to face them. Sam looked concerned while Nat had her neutral face. But he could see it behind her eyes - _is Bruce okay? Is Toni okay_?

"Toni's gone, somewhere in space and we have another attack coming. They're coming for the Mind Stone. We need to grab Vision and meet up with Bruce and Rhodes at the Compound." Steve moved past them, but Sam grabbed his arm. 

"Another attack or not, we might get arrest."

"Rhodes won't let that happen, Sam, you know that." She moved towards the cockpit, getting ready to take them to Wanda and Vision. Rhodes wouldn't, he had missed them. Said Toni did too and that's why she was trying to get Ross out of the picture. To bring them home. She had already convinced the government to get Scott and Clint house arrest instead of jail. It was the best deal the two fathers would have gotten in any other case. But him, Nat, Wanda and Sam? They'd been on the run for two years. They wouldn't get that type of deal. No matter what Toni did. And he wouldn't blame her if she didn't try. 

If she ever could. 

She wasn't dead, he told himself. This was Toni Stark - Iron Woman. She'd be fine. She'd come back. 

She had to. 

For now, though, he pushed her to the back of his mind. There was a new mission and like every other mission, he couldn't let himself get distracted. At this moment, the mission was what mattered. Get Vision, get to the Compound and make a plan. 

And most importantly, ignore his bleeding heart.


End file.
